Gift guide for books by Michigan authors

Buying local takes on deeper meaning when you’re buying books by West Michigan authors and other writers around the state. Their stories offer everything from best-selling memoirs to fictional tales to looks at the state’s past. Here are some of the ones featured in The Grand Rapids Press in 2010 that may make for the perfect holiday gift.

General fiction
“Lord of Misrule,” by Jaimy Gordon. The Kalamazoo author won this year’s National Book Award for fiction for her novel that follows a handful of characters through a year of horse races in the West Virginia back country. (McPherson, $25)

“Freshwater Boys,” by Adam Schuitema. A collection of 11 short stories by the Grand Rapids author set in and around the Great Lakes, dealing with adolescent boys and their conceptions of manhood. ($14, Delphinium)

“The Spot,” by David Means, of Kalamazoo. This book is described as “13 nuanced tales of wanderlust and transgression” by Publishers Weekly. ($23, Faber and Faber)

“The Life You’ve Imagined,” by Kristina Riggle. Grand Haven plays a role in this tale of family, changes and love by the Grand Rapids author. (Avon, $13.99)

“For a Short Time,” by Lori Lapekes Keri, of Wayland. A woman returns to her hometown unsure of who she really is and unsure which of the Quinn cousins is right for her. (LBF Books, $15.95)

“The Local News,” by Miriam Gershow. This former Detroiter’s debut novel tells the story of what happens after a girl’s older brother disappears. ($15, Spiegel & Grau)

“A Good High Place,” by L.E. Kimball. A tale of characters and cultures that meet in the small, northern town of Elk Rapids. (Switchgrass Books, $13.95)

“Eden Springs,” by Laura Kasischke. Benton Harbor’s House of David is revealed in this novella. (WMU Press, $18.95)

Nonfiction
“The Girl Behind the Mask: The Diary of Marvin Sapp’s Daughter,” by Mikaila Sapp. The 13-year-old daughter of gospel artist and Lighthouse Full Life Center Pastor Marvin Sapp wrote a journal that chronicling her mother’s struggle with cancer. (lighthouseflc.com, $10)

“Laughing For A Living,” by Sue Merrell. This Grand Rapids Press entertainment writer recalls strange, funny tales of celebs through the years. (Lulu, $12)

"The Dark End of the Street," by Danielle McGuire.

History
“The Dark End of the Street,” by Danielle McGuire. The author reinterprets the Civil Rights Movement through the lens of black women, including Rosa Parks, fighting against sexual violence by white men. (Knopf, $27.95)

“Blue Skies and Thunder,” by Virgil Westdale and Stephanie Gerdes. Local World War II vet recalls liberating Dachau, prejudice against Japanese-Americans. (iUniverse, $21.95)

“Grand Valley Celebrates 50 Years of Shaping Lives.” The story of GVSU from its charter in 1960 to today, with timeline, photos and stories. (ubs.gvsu.edu, $19.95)

“Lost Eagles: One Man’s Mission to Find Missing Airmen in Two World Wars,” by Blaine Pardoe. Reveals the life of Galesburg native Fred Zinn, who pioneered how downed airmens’ fates are discovered. (U-M Press, $32.50)

“Ladies of the Lights,” by Patricia Majher. Unique history of the Michigan women who worked at the state’s many lighthouses. (U-M Press, $22.95)

“Lost Boys: The Beulah Home Tragedy,” by Jack Hobey. Tells the tale of The Beulah Land Farm for Boys in Boyne City when boys accused its leader, Herman Swift, of abuse. (Harbor House Publishers, $17.95)

“For Those In Peril: Shipwrecks of Ottawa County Michigan,” by Craig Rich, stories of rescues and losses of more than 100 vessels from the 1850s to present. (In-depth Editions, $17.95)

“A Michigan Polar Bear Confronts the Bolsheviks,” by Godfrey J. Anderson. War memoir from a local soldier who participated in Woodrow Wilson’s 1918 military expedition against the Bolsheviks. (Eerdmans, $17.99)

“The Events of October: Murder-Suicide on a Small Campus,” by Gail Griffin. This Kalamazoo College professor explores the 1999 murder-suicide that rocked the close-knit college community. (WSU Press, $22.95)

“Rick Ferrell, Knuckleball Catcher,” by Kerrie Ferrell and William M. Anderson. Life and times of the AL’s longest playing catcher and Detroit Tigers coach, scout and executive. (McFarland, $29.95)

"The Detroit Electric Scheme," by D.E. Jones.

Mystery
“The Detroit Electric Scheme,” by D.E. Jones. Detroit’s automotive history comes to life in this tale of murder, blackmail and organized crime by a Kalamazoo author. (Minotaur Books, $24.99)

“Asylum Lake,” by R.A. Evans. A psychiatric hospital opened in Bedlam Falls, Mich., in 1917, but now its secrets are stirring Asylum Lake; Brady Tanner must solve the mystery before evil overtakes him. (Schuler Books’ Chapbook Press, $15)

Memoir
“You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know,” by Heather Sellers. Hope professor’s memoir of her dysfunctional family and rare disorder called prosopagnosia is a tale of triumph. (Riverhead, $25.95)

“An American Map,” by Anne-Marie Oomen. Interlochen’s Ooman explores new landscapes and home in newest book. (WSU Press, $18.95)

“Garbio” by Larry Vanderleest. Calvin grad recalls his days as a Chicago garbage man at a time when the Dutch cornered the trash market. (Schuler Books’ Chapbook Press, $16.95)

Miscellaneous
“Our Grand Journey: Discovering the River We Thought We Knew”: The Press’ 17-day journey down the Grand River comes to life here. (The Grand Rapids Press, $19.99)

“Naked in the Stream: Isle Royale Stories,” by Vic Foerster. Foerster writes of his adventures and love for the secluded island in Lake Superior. (Arbutus Press, $18.95)

Children
“Special Delivery” and “Hide and Seek,” by Sue Stauffacher. Charming tales of the Animal Rescue Team based on real animal stories from the area, and written by a Grand Rapids resident. (Knopf, $12.99 each)

“Sooper Yooper,” by Mark Newman and Mark Heckman, average kid Billy Cooper
defends the Great Lakes against threats to the environment. (Thunder Bay Press, $17.95)

“The Twelve Days of Christmas in Michigan,” by Susan Collins Thoms. Press writer uses Michigan history and sites to reveal marvels of the Great Lakes State. (Sterling, $12.95)

“Elsie’s Bird,” by Jane Yolen and David Small, a young girl deals with changes after the death of her mother. (Philomel, $17, ages 6-10)

“The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark,” by Deborah Diesen. The best-selling Pout-Pout fish has a new adventure thanks to this Grand Ledge author. (FSG, $16.99) Also, Diesen’s host of crabby, but charming, babies are featured in “The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade” (Tricycle Press, $15.99)

“Cedric and the Dragon,” by Elizabeth Raum, inspired by a Bible verse, it tells the tale of a kind boy who prefers hugs to swords. (Elva Resa Publishing’s Alma Little, $16.95)